Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said the country would be close to achieving developed nation status by 2020 – as envisioned in Wawasan 2020 – had his successors stuck to the plan instead of being obsessed with leaving their own legacies.
"I believe completely that this country could be developed up to the point of becoming a developed country by 2020 if we had stuck to the system we used to develop the country.
"But, you know, after there is a change of government (prime minister), each wants their own system and approach so that they can leave their own legacies.
"They don't want the history books to say that they had relied on the legacy of their predecessor," he told a dialogue with youths on the economy, which was aired live on Facebook today.
Mahathir claimed the current government did not place enough emphasis on the economy, but was more interested in holding onto power.
"That is why he (Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak) sold Proton. That is not going to advance our economy. He has given away all kinds of things to other people instead of doing it ourselves.
"Actually, even the rail projects, we could do it on our own, but it was given to someone else.
"Even the workers are from elsewhere," he said, though not specifying which rail projects he was referring to.
Both the MRT1 and MRT2 had local contractors. However, the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) is the main contractor for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), and foreign contenders are the frontrunners for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail and the MRT3 projects.
"The stress now is on politics, not on the economy.
"This country had the potential to become a fully developed country by 2020 if we had adopted the same approach that raised our country from a poor third world nation to an Asian Tiger," he said. - Mkini
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